Prof. Dr Constantin Goschler organizes a conference at the German Historical Institute (London) from 4-6 July 2024. The conference is organized by the German Historical Institute and the London School of Economics, as well as the Gerda Henkel Foundation.

The French newspaper Le Figaro has published a commentary concerning the current status of practicing compromise in German politics. The article is based on an interview between the journalist Pierre Avril (Le Figaro correspondent in Berlin) and Prof. Dr Ulrich Willems. The article is available here (French language).

The Joint Institute of Conflict Analysis, Conflict Regulation and Civic Education (Concrede) was established by the Universities of Duisburg-Essen and Münster in 2023. Its aim is to bring together various research projects and individual academics from both universities who are involved in researching conflicts in pluralistic societies and to provide a forum for cooperation. The “Cultures of Compromise” research network is also represented by Concrede.

The translator Ursula Gräfe (Frankfurt) held a lecture on forms of compromise in Japanese literature during the workshop “Compromise in Plural Worlds: A Comparison of Japan and Europe” on 7 March in Essen. You can find a report of her lecture on the literature blog Bücheratlas (author: Martin Oehlen).

Organisation: The conference was organised by the research project “Cultures of Compromise” and the “Agonistic Plurality” project based at the Universities of Duisburg-Essen and Münster.

Responsible for the conference: Jan-Hendryk de Boer, Julia Mariko Jacoby, Elisabeth Haefs (University of Duisburg-Essen) and Manon Westphal (University of Münster)

The workshop “Compromise in Plural Worlds. Japan and Europe in Comparison” on 7 and 8 March 2024 in Essen dealt with forms of conflict regulation in Japan's history and its present-day society. In particular, the role of compromise in Japan, a society where consensual agreements are highly valued and open conflict is not welcome, was discussed. A comparison with Europe also focused on working out specifics and commonalities. Interdisciplinary researchers from Tokyo, Hiroshima, Osaka, Leiden, Sheffield and Frankfurt am Main held lectures during this workshop.

The public lecture on 7 March 2024 was given by Prof. Dr Masaki Taguchi (Legal History, University of Tokyo).

In the context of an interdisciplinary panel discussion, political scientist Dr Manon Westphal gave a lecture on compromise in Münster. Exactly 375 years after the ratification of the Peace of Westphalia, the City of Münster and the University of Münster invited interested citizens and academics to an interdisciplinary discussion to talk about the links between peace and pluralism. The central topic of the event was how to deal with religious diversity.

From 22 to 25 January 2024, Prof. em. Daniel Bar-Tal, PhD (School of Education/Tel Aviv University) presented his new monograph at the University of Münster and held a workshop at the University of Duisburg-Essen, offering further exchange concerning his research. He also offered students the opportunity to engage with him and his research in a two-hour masterclass at the University of Münster.

Daniel Bar-Tal is distinguished for his research on the socio-psychological foundations and dynamics of intractable conflicts. Furthermore, he developed a conceptual framework for understanding children's political socialization and for peace education. He is concerned with the Israeli-Arab-Palestinian conflict and has presented comprehensive socio-political psychological analyses of its emergence, persistence and maintenance. He gave his lecture on this topic in Münster, which was well attended and also followed online via livestream. In his lecture, he not only described the core theses of his current book, but also explicitly referred to the current war in the Middle East. The lecture was followed by an intensive and lively discussion.

Daniel Bar-Tal's visit in January was hosted by the research network “Cultures of Compromise” and the “Agonistic Plurality” project at the Universities of Münster and Duisburg-Essen.

Bar-Tal, Daniel. Sinking Into the Honey Trap: The Case of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. Trans. Barbara Doron. Washington, DC: Westphalia, 2023.

26 October 2023, 6:00 p.m.,
College for Social Sciences and Humanities (Lindenallee 39/41, 45127 Essen)

In his lecture, former diplomat and ambassador Martin Kobler provided insights into dealing with compromise in the diplomatic service. He emphasised one of the most important characteristics of conflict resolution: without a shared vision, without a consensus concerning the compromise, a solution cannot be sustainable.

During his distinguished career, Kobler has served as the UN special envoy to Libya (2015-2017), as well as to Afghanistan (2010-2011), Iraq (2011-2013), and Congo (2013-2015). Most recently, he was the German Ambassador to Pakistan (2017-2019). Since 2020, Kobler has been a guest lecturer at the Bundeswehr Command and Staff College in Hamburg.

In his lecture on May 10, 2023 on “Public political philosophy in theory and practice“, Dr Jonathan Floyd (University of Bristol) presented his approach to public political philosophy. It addressed the question of what it means to do political philosophy not only for the academic sphere, but also for the general public

Mathis Knospe, a student in Comparative Public Governance and European Studies at the University of Münster and a student assistant in the research network “Cultures of Compromise“, met Jonathan Floyd for an interview.

You can find the full interview here.

International Conference of the association “Cultures of Compromise”

In three keynote lectures and twelve presentations, the phenomenon of compromise will be examined from theoretical and a historical perspektive.

Programme details and further information about registration can be found here.

The German Historical Institute London published “The Genius of Parliament: Cultures of Compromise in Britain and Germany after 1945” - Bulletin GHIL, vol. 45 (2023), no. 1, 3-38 - by Prof. Dr Constantin Goschler.

During the opening event, our team member Stefanie Segieth interviewed personal investigators and scientists for CampusFM Radio at the University of Duisburg-Essen.

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June, 2022: Opening Event

On June 2, 2022 at 6 p.m., the interdisciplinary research network “Cultures of Compromise” invites you to its festive kick-off event at the Glaspavillon.

In addition to greetings from the university administrations of the participating University of Duisburg-Essen, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster and Ruhr-Universität Bochum as well as the Ministry of Culture and Science of North Rhine-Westphalia, Veronique Zanetti will give a lecture.

Colloquium and Courses in the Summer Term 2022

The research association organizes an accompanying colloquium during the course of the project. In addition to theoretical basics, the colloquium also provides insights into current research projects. We are looking forward to interesting lectures and exciting discussions.

You can find more information about our upcoming events here.

March, 2022: Interview with Prof Dr Ulrich Willems

Prof. Dr Ulrich Willems of the Westfälische-Wilhelms-Universität-Münster, spoke with Liane Unteregger of the magazine sprich! about compromise. Under the guiding question of what makes a good compromise and where it reaches its limits, Ulrich Willems explains that compromises are perceived very differently depending on culture and era.

The interview is available free of charge.